Serving In Partnership with: The Bryant’s Bulletin

Quarterly Update

25th May, 2010 Volume 2, Issue 2

www.ie.om.org
May 15-18—Dax on Cross Walk
May 19—Sarah’s Birthday
Upcoming Events:
June 29-July 13—Impact Ireland
July 3-4—European Triathlon Champi-
onships Outreach in Athlone
July 5-9—Soccer Camp
August 6-14—Baseball Camp

Two Thumbs Up! Prayer Points

30 teenagers
braved wind, rain,
sleet, and even
snow at this year‟s
Junior Golf Camp
put on by OM
Ireland and the
Fellowship of
Christian Athletes.
While the weather wasn‟t ideal, our team
improvised to make the camp very
enjoyable and meaningful for the teens.
The camp was headlined by Anders
Forsbrand, a veteran European PGA Tour
Pro and former vice-captain of the Ryder
Cup in 2004. Anders was accompanied
by 9 other professionals from the U.S.
who provided world-class golf instruction
for the campers.
Of course, golf was not the only thing
being taught. Each day after lunch one
of the pros shared an experience from
their life or career that helped draw
them closer to God. The campers then
broke into small groups and spent about
an hour discussing the topic and asking
questions to their small group leader.
At first, most of the kids were pretty
quiet. However, as the week went on
and relationships deepened, more and
more of the kids started opening up.
One of the topics discussed was
“Meltdowns” and how a person reacts
when things go wrong. An example
given was Tiger Woods and then that
was tied in to the story of David and
Bathsheba. Matt, one of the coaching
group leaders asked his campers if
anyone could think of other examples of
meltdowns. “The Catholic Church is in a
meltdown”, responded one young golfer.
“The Church and the priests have been
entitled to too much power for too long
and have had no accountability.” That
comment started a lengthy and
interesting discussion that helped
understand the perspective that most
young people in Ireland have towards
organized religion.
On the last day of camp, the gospel Praise for Liam‟s diagnosis through
was presented to each group. Jeff, a speech therapy of Receptive Language
small group leader, shared with his Disorder and for understanding of how we
group and also made sure that they can communicate more effectively with
understood the message and how to him.
respond if they wanted to accept
Jesus. Finances for Lacken House (OM Ireland‟s
He told them that now that they had headquarters). For monthly operational
the information, they had to make a costs, to pay off the initial amount owed
decision. If they wanted to decide to
on the property, and to upgrade and ex-
invite Jesus to be Lord of their life,
then to just give him a “thumbs up.” pand the facilities.
No one responded. Personnel needs at Lacken House, includ-
That evening, we had a celebration ing a personnel and hospitality coordina-
dinner and awards presentation for
tor.
the campers and their parents. Each
camper was presented with a Bible, Safety while Dax is on a 70 mile walk
an inspiring Christian book called (from Galway to Lacken House) as part of
Golf’s Sacred Journey, a wooden
a team carrying a 12-foot wooden cross.
cross, and a certificate of
participation. Anders then shared his Planning for upcoming soccer and base-
testimony of how he became a ball camps this summer.
Christian and OM Ireland Director
Mike Mullins followed with another Boldness in sharing the gospel with peo-
presentation of the gospel message. ple that we meet.
It was a great ending to a great
week—and to close our time together, A permanent meeting location for the
we invited all of the small groups to church we attend in Roscommon town.
huddle up one last time to say their
goodbyes. Continued personal financial support that
It was during this last small group allows us to serve full-time in ministry.
time that two of the teens in Jeff‟s
group looked over at him and both
gave him a “thumbs up.” “Does that
mean what I think it means?”, Jeff
asked. With big grins on their faces,
both of the guys replied in unison,
“Yep!”
There were a lot of challenges during
the week, but if the whole camp was
just for those two young men to know
Christ, then it was absolutely worth it! In this issue:
“If you want to decide to invite
Jesus to be Lord of your life, then Two Thumbs Up! 1
just give me a „thumbs up.‟”
Sarah’s Stories 2
No one responded.
Building Character 2
 Sarah‟s Stories
A few months ago, Liam‟s teacher informed
me that she wanted to have him assessed for
a learning disorder. He was experiencing
difficulty with paying attention, listening, and
retaining what was taught. I asked God,
“Why can‟t things just be a bit easier for
him?” We asked family and a few friends to
pray for the situation. I love sharing how God
has answered those prayers! Liam‟s speech
and language therapist recently diagnosed
him with Receptive Language Disorder. It is
a disorder in which Liam takes in and
processes what is spoken to him much
differently than most other children. He
confuses specific letter sounds, as well as
whole words and sentences that are spoken
to him. He is now being referred to have a
full-time resource aide who will help him
better understand what is spoken in class.
After chatting with his teacher about his
diagnosis, she told me there is a boy at his
school a few years older who was diagnosed
with the same thing, and the entire faculty
and staff have spent the last couple of years
learning about how this child is challenged
and how they can help him. Why can‟t God
make things easier for Liam? I don‟t pretend
to know the whole answer to that, or what
God has planned for him, but perhaps God
prefers to create beauty in uniqueness in His
children. Perhaps He is teaching Liam and
his classmates to have compassion for those
who are different. Perhaps He desires to
draw us closer to him in difficult
circumstances. Or perhaps He is reminding
us that He is sovereign over our lives, down to
the tiny detail of another child paving the way
for Liam at his tiny country school. Most
wonderful and consoling of all, Liam recently
asked Jesus into his heart. Somehow he
heard the basics of the Gospel message very
clearly and made a decision for himself. I am
constantly amazed at the perfect timing, the
glory, mercy, and kindness of our God and
how He deals with us! “
“Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in
your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me, when as
yet there were none of them.” Psalm 139:16

We’d love to hear from you!

To our prayer and financial Our Address: Portrunny Lodge

Portrunny
partners:
Co. Roscommon
Go raibh maith agat! Ireland

(guh-riv-muh-AH-git) Home: 001 353 90 666 1482

Office: 001 353 90 662 3964 x154
Which, of course, is Irish for: Email 1: dax.bryant@ie.om.org
Email 2: bryantsinireland@gmail.com
THANK YOU! Website: bryantsinireland.blogspot.com

The Brothers Bryant

Liam recently lost his first tooth! He
looks so different and is very proud of
his new look. Please be praying for the
necessary resources for him at school.
Finn is still very much large and in
charge! He loves to play outside on his
scooter and kick his soccer ball
around. Please be praying for him to
be prepared for playschool in the fall.
Cormac is getting very close to crawl-
ing around. He sits up by himself very
well and is always very interested in
what the other two brothers are up to.
He is a very happy baby, and keeps the
whole family entertained.
Building Character on & off the Court
Dax has really enjoyed the opportunity to coach basketball at a
secondary school in Athlone. He recently took the 1st & 2nd
year teams to the all-Ireland tournament in Limerick where they
both finished 10th place in the country! It is exciting to see how
God is using basketball as a tool to reach into the lives of young
people in Ireland. Dax uses the first 5-10 minutes at the begin-
ning of each practice to share a “life lesson” - touching on
things like character, commitment, integrity, and success. The
lessons are applied to the game itself and to life outside the
gym. Pray for relationships to be developed and strengthened.
There is a real open door with the school leaders, so please
also be praying that Dax makes the best use of that platform to
share the gospel.